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Fog desert

A fog desert is a specialized type of arid ecosystem in coastal regions where persistent fog, generated by cold ocean currents and onshore winds, serves as the primary source of moisture for sustaining plant and animal life, often in the absence of significant rainfall.^[1] These environments typically form along the western coasts of continents in subtropical latitudes, such as the Pacific-facing deserts of South America and the Atlantic-adjacent dunes of southern Africa, where upwelling currents chill the air, creating thick fog layers that drift inland and condense on vegetation or terrain.^[2] Notable examples include the Atacama Desert in Chile and Peru, recognized as one of the driest places on Earth with areas receiving less than 1 mm of rain annually yet supporting fog oases covering over 17,000 km², and the Namib Desert in Namibia, where fog deposition averages 39 mm per year compared to just 21 mm of rainfall.^[3]^[4] In fog deserts, moisture from fog drip—water condensed on leaves, stems, or rocky surfaces—enables unique ecological adaptations, such as plants with specialized leaf structures to harvest and channel fog water to roots, fostering ephemeral oases or "lomas" that bloom sporadically, sometimes only once every decade.^[2] Fauna in these systems, including numerous species in the Namib that actively or passively exploit fog for hydration, with insects like beetles and ants, as well as larger animals such as oryx and desert foxes, relying on these microhabitats for survival amid hyperarid conditions.^[4] Ecologically, fog deserts host high levels of endemism and biodiversity hotspots, supporting rare species like wild tomatoes and medicinal plants in the Atacama's fog oases, while also connecting marine and terrestrial nutrient cycles through fog-transported fertilizers.^[2] Human communities near these areas, comprising about 58% of Peru's population, depend on them for water, cultural practices, and potential agriculture, as demonstrated by fog-harvesting nets used to grow crops like lettuce in the Atacama.^[3] However, these fragile ecosystems face threats from climate change, which may alter fog patterns, alongside urbanization, mining, and overgrazing, underscoring the need for conservation efforts like mapping and protected networks.^[2]

Definition and Characteristics

Definition

A fog desert is an arid region where fog serves as the dominant or sole source of moisture, primarily through fog drip—the condensation of water droplets from fog onto surfaces like vegetation, which then drips to the ground to sustain plant and animal life, rather than relying on precipitation from rain.^[5] These ecosystems are typically coastal, with fog generated by the interaction of cool ocean currents and warm air, leading to high humidity but negligible direct rainfall. These are subtypes of coastal deserts formed by upwelling cold currents like the Benguela (Namib) or Humboldt (Atacama), which cool marine air to produce fog.^[1] Unlike typical hot or cold deserts, which depend on rare rainfall events or groundwater for moisture, fog deserts receive less than 50 mm of annual rain but obtain equivalent or greater water input from frequent fog occurrences, often contributing the majority of the available moisture in exemplary cases like the Namib Desert, where fog deposition can exceed rainfall.^[1]^[4] This reliance on fog distinguishes fog deserts by enabling unique adaptations in biota, such as fog-harvesting structures in plants and behaviors in animals, without the sporadic influxes of rain that characterize other arid environments.^[6] The phenomenon was first described in scientific literature in the early 20th century, with early recognitions of fog's role in Namib Desert ecosystems dating to 1936, and further elaborated in the mid-century through observations of its ecological impacts.^[6] Formal ecological classification advanced in the 1970s, marked by landmark studies on fog-dependent adaptations, such as water collection behaviors in beetles, establishing fog deserts as a distinct biome.^[6]

Key Features

Fog deserts are characterized by extreme aridity, with annual precipitation typically below 25 mm, often approaching 0–5 mm in hyper-arid zones such as the Atacama, where rainfall constitutes less than 5% of potential evapotranspiration.^[7] This scarcity of direct rainfall is compounded by exceptionally high potential evapotranspiration rates exceeding 2,000 mm per year, driven by intense solar radiation and low humidity, resulting in net water deficits that define their hyper-arid conditions.^[8] A hallmark of these ecosystems is the prevalence of persistent advective fog layers originating from cold ocean currents, which form daily along coastal zones and can last several hours, particularly from evening through morning.^[9] In regions like the Namib, fog occurs on 100-180 days annually near the coast, contributing an estimated 20-100 liters of water per square meter per year through condensation and drip from vegetation or surfaces, serving as the primary moisture source in an otherwise rainless environment.^[9]^[4] The terrain of fog deserts typically features coastal plains or zones adjacent to mountainous barriers that intercept fog-laden winds, promoting condensation on exposed surfaces.^[10] Common landforms include expansive gravel plains, shifting sand dunes, and rugged rocky outcrops, which facilitate fog trapping and water runoff into microhabitats.^[11] Temperature profiles in fog deserts reflect oceanic moderation, with annual averages ranging from 10–20°C, milder than inland deserts due to persistent cloud and fog cover that dampens extremes.^[5] Diurnal temperature swings of 20–30°C occur, with daytime highs moderated by fog and cooler nights from radiative cooling, contrasting sharply with the more severe fluctuations in non-coastal arid regions.^[5]

Climate and Formation

Atmospheric Processes

Fog deserts are characterized by the advection of warm, moist air masses from nearby oceans over cooler surfaces, leading to condensation and fog formation. In regions like the Namib Desert, the Benguela Current facilitates this process by cooling the air as it moves onshore, while in the Atacama Desert, the Humboldt Current plays a similar role, creating temperature gradients that promote stratocumulus cloud development and subsequent fog when relative humidity surpasses 95%. This advective mechanism is dominant, with moist marine boundary layer air transported via sea breezes, often decoupling from drier upper air layers.^[12]^[13] Diurnal cycles significantly influence fog persistence in these environments. Fog typically forms at night or in the early morning hours due to radiative cooling of the surface, which lowers temperatures and increases relative humidity until saturation is reached. As solar heating intensifies by midday, the fog dissipates rapidly, with cloud bases rising and low-level mixing eroding the moist layer; this pattern results in peak fog coverage between approximately 03:00 and 09:00 UTC near coastal areas.^[12] Stable atmospheric inversion layers are crucial for sustaining fog events by trapping moist air near the ground and inhibiting vertical mixing with drier tropospheric air. These inversions, often positioned at 950–1050 meters above sea level, form due to subsidence in the subtropical high-pressure systems and are strengthened by the cooling effects of ocean currents, prolonging fog for 100–200 days annually along coastal zones.^[13]^[9] The hydrological impact of these processes includes fog drip, where condensed water droplets deposit on surfaces. This yield arises from collection efficiencies of up to 20% of the incident fog liquid water content, as determined by measurements in collector systems simulating natural deposition.^[13]^[14]

Geological Influences

Fog deserts are profoundly shaped by oceanic upwelling currents, which bring cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface along coastal regions, cooling the overlying air and fostering persistent fog formation through condensation. In the Atacama Desert, the Humboldt Current exemplifies this process, driven by southeast trade winds that induce offshore Ekman transport, resulting in upwelling of deep, cold waters typically 10–15°C cooler than surrounding surface temperatures.^[15] This cooling effect saturates the marine boundary layer, promoting advective fog that drifts inland and provides the primary moisture source in otherwise hyperarid environments. Similar upwelling-driven fog formation occurs in other coastal fog deserts, such as those along Baja California influenced by the California Current.^[16] Topographic features, particularly mountain ranges, exert significant orographic influences by forcing moist marine air upward, leading to adiabatic cooling and enhanced fog development, while simultaneously creating rain shadows that exacerbate aridity. The Andes Mountains along the eastern margin of the Atacama Desert illustrate this dynamic, where the western slopes intercept fog-laden air from the Pacific, causing orographic lift that contributes approximately 22% of local fog events through enhanced condensation on windward flanks.^[17] The resulting rain shadow blocks easterly moisture from the Amazon Basin, limiting precipitation to near-zero levels and confining fog as the dominant hydrological input.^[18] Coastal morphology further sustains fog persistence by confining it within narrow strips between the ocean and inland highlands, where topographic barriers prevent dissipation. These zones, typically 10–50 km wide in fog deserts like the Atacama and Namib, trap low-level stratus clouds against steep coastal cliffs and cordilleras, allowing fog to linger for extended periods.^[6] Surface features such as gravel pavements in these strips promote direct condensation by providing rough, heat-radiating substrates that cool rapidly at night, increasing dew and fog-drip yields compared to smoother terrains.^[19] Over geological timescales, fog deserts have developed through tectonic uplift and stable oceanographic regimes, establishing conditions for long-term hyperaridity. In the Atacama, Miocene-era uplift of the Andes to over 2 km elevation initiated a pronounced rain shadow around 14–10 million years ago, coinciding with intensification of the Humboldt Current system, which has remained persistent due to consistent trade wind patterns. This tectonic-oceanographic interplay has maintained fog-dominated hydrology since the middle Miocene, with minimal landscape alteration from precipitation-driven erosion.

Geographical Distribution

Prominent Locations

The Namib Desert in Namibia represents one of the most iconic fog deserts, stretching approximately 1,900 km (1,200 miles) along the Atlantic coast from southern Angola to northern South Africa, centered around coordinates 23°S, 15°E.^[20] This ancient arid landscape, formed in part by the cool Benguela Current upwelling that generates persistent coastal fog, experiences frequent fog events providing essential moisture in an otherwise hyperarid environment.^[20] Fog occurrence diminishes inland, with up to 87 foggy days per year recorded at sites 33 km from the coast.^[21] In South America, the Atacama Desert, spanning coastal regions of northern Chile and southern Peru, is recognized as the world's driest non-polar desert, with annual rainfall often below 1 mm in hyperarid core areas, such as 0.6 mm near Arica and 2 mm near Iquique.^[19] Despite minimal precipitation, fog oases known as lomas form in coastal fog belts influenced by the Humboldt Current, where stratus clouds and fog events—primarily during the austral winter—sustain seasonal vegetation across an estimated 17,093 km² of oasis ecosystems.^[22] These lomas, concentrated along the 3,000 km Pacific coastal strip, capture fog moisture through orographic lift on steep slopes, with some sites yielding up to 100 liters per day via fog drip.^[19] The fog desert of Baja California in Mexico, part of the broader Sonoran Desert ecoregion covering roughly 100,000 km² across the peninsula, relies heavily on Pacific Ocean fog advected by marine layer stratus clouds, which contribute significantly to the moisture input in coastal prairie and scrub habitats.^[23] This fog, forming due to cooling of moist air over cold coastal waters, supports unique xerophytic communities in the arid peninsula, where rainfall is sparse and fog events are most prevalent during summer and fall.^[23] Lesser-known fog deserts occur in coastal strips of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly along the southern coasts of Oman and Yemen, where seasonal fog arises from the Indian Ocean monsoon system interacting with coastal topography.^[24] These fog belts, classified as part of the xeric scrub ecoregion, extend 50–120 km inland from the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden shores.^[24] As an experimental analog, the Biosphere 2 facility in Oracle, Arizona, USA, includes a controlled coastal fog desert mesocosm simulating arid scrub ecosystems, with construction beginning in 1987 to model fog-dependent moisture dynamics in enclosed environments.^[25] This 1,400 m² biome replicates erratic fog and rainfall patterns to study desert processes, adjusted over time to enhance aridity following initial experiments from 1991–1993.^[25]

Regional Variations

Fog deserts display significant regional variations in scale, intensity, and environmental drivers, with the majority of prominent examples concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly along the coasts of Africa and South America. This distribution stems from the persistent subtropical high-pressure systems over the oceans, coupled with cold upwelling currents like the Benguela Current off Namibia and the Humboldt Current off Chile and Peru, which cool marine air and generate advective stratus clouds that drift inland as fog.^[9]^[17] Notable intensity gradients exist between regions, exemplified by the denser fog regimes in the Namib Desert, where coastal areas experience fog on approximately 120 days per year due to strong southeasterly trade winds interacting with the coastal low-pressure system. In contrast, the Baja California Desert features sparser fog, with frequencies akin to adjacent northern Mexican and southern Californian coasts at around 100-150 days annually, influenced by the warmer California Current that limits stratus persistence compared to southern counterparts. These differences in fog occurrence directly impact moisture availability, with higher coastal frequencies in the Namib supporting greater fog drip yields essential for local hydrology.^[9]^[26] Transitional zones highlight hybrid characteristics, as in the Canary Islands' fog belts, where northeasterly trade winds produce frequent stratocumulus clouds that blend fog desert aridity with Mediterranean influences, fostering subtropical laurel forests through elevated humidity and fog interception on windward slopes.^[27] Marginal or emerging fog desert areas include Australia's western coastal regions, where occasional fog from the Indian Ocean moderates aridity in subtropical desert fringes, and California's coastal zones, where seasonal marine fog mitigates drought stress in semi-arid environments but does not create extreme desert conditions due to supplementary winter rains.^[28]^[29]

Ecology and Biodiversity

Plant Life

In fog deserts, vegetation is characteristically sparse and highly specialized, with overall cover typically ranging from 1% to 5% in non-fog periods due to extreme aridity, though fog events dramatically enhance greenness and productivity by alleviating drought stress by 20-36%.^[30]^[31] These ecosystems feature low-biomass communities dominated by drought-deciduous annuals and perennial shrubs that activate during fog seasons, relying on atmospheric moisture rather than rainfall.^[22] Lomas formations, fog-nurtured hillocks along the coastal Atacama and Peruvian deserts, exemplify these communities, where marine fog—known as camanchaca—sustains seasonal blooms of annuals and short-lived perennials from May to October, peaking in August-September.^[32]^[22] Dominant species include Nolana (Solanaceae), a genus of 89 endemic herbs and shrubs that form dense patches during moist fog episodes, contributing to transient vegetation cover that can reach higher densities on fog-exposed slopes.^[33] Other notable annuals, such as Hoffmannia meyeniana and Alomia spicata, emerge ephemerally, transforming barren landscapes into green oases until fog subsides.^[34] The Namib fog desert hosts iconic species like Welwitschia mirabilis, a relict gymnosperm (Gnetophyta) renowned for its longevity exceeding 1,000 years and unique morphology with two persistent leaves that channel fog moisture toward the base.^[35] Its extensive taproot, penetrating up to 1.5 meters or more into the soil, accesses subsurface water augmented by fog drip from condensed atmospheric humidity, while shallow fibrous roots capture surface moisture from the frequent coastal fogs generated by the Benguela Current.^[36]^[35] In the Baja California fog desert, succulents and shrubs such as Euphorbia xanti (Baja spurge) prevail, forming open scrub with thick, water-storing stems and waxy cuticles that minimize transpiration losses in the hyperarid coastal zone.^[37] These adaptations enable survival on fog-derived water, with species like Euphorbia exhibiting succulent tissues that buffer against prolonged dry spells, supporting low-density but resilient communities.^[38] Fog significantly boosts productivity in these areas, with studies showing it as a primary driver of vegetation response over sporadic rainfall.^[39]

Animal Life

In fog deserts, animal life is limited in diversity and abundance due to extreme aridity, but species exhibit remarkable adaptations to harvest moisture directly from fog or capitalize on the brief windows of activity it provides. Invertebrates form the backbone of the fauna, often comprising over 90% of captured individuals in these ecosystems, with many emerging solely during fog events to hydrate and feed on detritus or ephemeral prey.^[6] Prominent among Namib Desert invertebrates are fog beetles of the genus Onymacris, such as O. unguicularis, which are active only during advective fog incursions. These tenebrionid beetles adopt a characteristic head-down posture on dune crests, allowing hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterns on their elytra to channel condensed fog droplets into their mouths; a single fog event can supply up to 240 mg of water, equivalent to 34% of body mass, enabling survival in rainless periods exceeding a year.^[40]^[6] The Namib sandhopper (Talorchestia capensis), a coastal talitrid amphipod, similarly restricts activity to fog-moistened dune sands, absorbing atmospheric moisture through its permeable exoskeleton and foraging on organic matter wetted by fog drip.^[41] Reptiles and birds in fog deserts also synchronize with fog frequency, with populations fluctuating in response to its availability. In Baja California's Vizcaíno fog desert, the desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) depends on fog for behavioral thermoregulation and indirect hydration, foraging actively during cooler fog periods on moisture-enhanced vegetation and insects, with densities highest in fog-prone coastal zones.^[42] In the Atacama Desert's lomas formations, shorebirds such as plovers and sandpipers aggregate during peak fog seasons, exploiting the temporary greening of herbs and invertebrates that bloom with fog deposition; their numbers can increase by orders of magnitude when fog events are frequent, supporting seasonal breeding and migration stopovers.^[43] Mammals are rarer, adapted to low-productivity conditions with densities typically ranging from 0.1 to 1 individual per km². In the Namib, springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) exemplify this as small herbivores that migrate toward fog-influenced coastal zones for access to fog-nourished grasses and metabolic water, though they rarely drink free-standing water.^[6]^[44] The food web is dominated by detritivores like tenebrionid beetles, which process organic matter from fog-stimulated plant decay; fog events trigger brief trophic bursts, sustaining 10-20 interacting species at a site through short-lived pulses of primary production and invertebrate outbreaks before aridity resumes. These animals depend on the patchy vegetation as a foundational habitat base.^[6]

Specialized Adaptations

Organisms in fog deserts have evolved specialized mechanisms to harvest and conserve moisture from fog, which serves as their primary water source in environments where rainfall is negligible. These adaptations include structural features that capture fog droplets, physiological strategies for direct absorption, and behavioral patterns synchronized with fog occurrence, all contributing to survival in hyper-arid conditions. Over evolutionary timescales, such traits have led to high levels of endemism, reflecting isolation in fog-dependent habitats.^[45] In animals, fog-harvesting structures are exemplified by the Namib Desert darkling beetle Stenocara gracilipes, whose elytra feature a bumpy surface that collects fog droplets through capillary action, allowing the beetle to obtain water by licking the condensed moisture. Although earlier hypotheses proposed hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterns on these bumps, detailed analysis reveals the surface is uniformly hydrophobic, with the microstructure enabling efficient droplet coalescence and drainage toward the mouth. In controlled fog exposure experiments lasting 2 hours, dead specimens harvested approximately 0.11 ml of water, sufficient to support hydration needs during fog events that typically last several hours at night.^[46] Plants in fog deserts employ vascular strategies that bypass traditional root systems, relying instead on foliar absorption. For instance, the air plant Tillandsia landbeckii in the Atacama Desert uses specialized trichomes—scale-like structures on leaf surfaces—to capture and absorb fog water directly through osmosis. These trichomes feature hygroscopic shield walls and semipermeable membranes that facilitate inward water flow during fog while minimizing outward evaporation in dry conditions, achieving a conductance asymmetry of up to 5800-fold between absorption and loss rates. This adaptation allows the plant to thrive without soil moisture, with water flux rates comparable to root-based uptake at 7.7 mg m⁻² min⁻¹ MPa.^[47] Behavioral tactics further enhance water conservation, particularly through nocturnal activity that aligns with peak fog deposition and avoids daytime heat. In the Namib Desert, species such as the beetle Onymacris unguicularis and fairy shrimp Lepidochora spp. emerge at night to bask or forage during fog, accessing free water while burrowing or sheltering during the day to limit exposure to desiccating conditions. This temporal strategy substantially reduces evaporative water loss by confining activity to cooler, humid periods, enabling long-term storage of harvested water in physiological reservoirs like the gut or bladder.^[6] The genetic uniqueness of fog desert biota underscores these adaptations' evolutionary depth, with high endemism rates of approximately 52% for vascular plants in Peruvian and Chilean fog oases, where over 420 species are restricted to these habitats. Such isolation has driven speciation over millions of years, with arid conditions in regions like the Atacama emerging at least 33 million years ago, fostering unique lineages adapted to fog dependency.^[22]^[48] Recent studies as of 2025 further illuminate this biodiversity, revealing shared evolutionary histories among species-rich genera like Nolana and morphological convergence in fog-adapted vegetation of the marginal Atacama, alongside distinct patterns in soil microbial diversity that enhance ecosystem resilience. Additionally, research on resilient Atacama flowers highlights potential applications for developing drought-tolerant crops.^[49]^[50]^[51]

Human Interactions

Historical and Cultural Uses

In the Namib Desert, indigenous communities such as the Topnaar people have long inhabited the coastal fog belt, where traditional water management practices adapted to the arid conditions include storing scarce moisture sources from fog-dependent environments. Modern initiatives building on these traditions have introduced fog collectors at Topnaar villages since the late 1990s, yielding up to 3 liters per square meter during fog events, highlighting the cultural continuity of relying on atmospheric moisture for survival.^[52] Among the Aymara people of the Atacama Desert, the coastal fog known as camanchaca—derived from the Aymara term kamanchaka meaning "darkness"—holds cultural significance as a life-sustaining phenomenon that nourishes sparse vegetation in lomas formations, influencing traditional settlement patterns in fog-influenced valleys. This mist, providing the primary moisture in an otherwise rainless environment, is embedded in indigenous worldviews as a vital connector between sea and land, shaping folklore and agricultural practices in pre-colonial times by enabling herding and gathering in otherwise uninhabitable zones. Archaeological and ethnohistorical studies note Aymara expansions along the northern Chilean coast during the Tiwanaku period (ca. 500–1000 CE), with settlements in arid areas potentially benefiting from fog moisture before modern irrigation.^[53]^[54] During the 19th century, guano mining in Peru's coastal fog zones, particularly on the Chincha Islands, represented an early economic exploitation of fog desert ecosystems, where workers endured extreme aridity but benefited indirectly from the camanchaca fog that sustained seabird populations essential for guano deposits. Although direct hydration from fog was limited due to the islands' barren nature and reliance on shipped water supplies, the fog's role in maintaining the hyper-arid yet bird-supporting environment was critical to the industry's viability, with thousands of laborers, including approximately 90,000 indentured Chinese workers across Peruvian industries over the period, extracting a total of about 13 million tons of guano from 1840 to 1880.^[55] Archaeological evidence from Baja California underscores ancient human adaptations to fog deserts, with sites on Isla Cedros—known as the "Island of Fogs"—revealing occupation layers dated to before 12,000 calibrated years before present (approximately 10,000 BCE), indicating early reliance on fog drip for water in subsistence activities. These terminal Pleistocene sites contain tools and remains suggesting hunter-gatherer economies that exploited fog-dependent coastal resources, laying the foundation for later herding practices in the region as environmental conditions allowed pastoralism to emerge post-occupation.^[56]^[57] In other fog deserts, such as the Canary Islands, historical communities have utilized fog through natural features like garoë trees to channel moisture, supporting traditional agriculture in arid conditions.^[58]

Contemporary Applications and Conservation

In fog deserts, contemporary applications primarily revolve around water harvesting technologies that leverage the unique fog resources to address water scarcity in arid regions. Large-scale fog collection nets have been deployed in the Namib Desert since the late 1990s through projects led by FogQuest, an organization focused on sustainable water solutions. These initiatives, such as those in Klipfontein and other coastal communities, utilize mesh structures to capture fog droplets, providing vital freshwater for local populations. Yields typically range from 1 to 3 liters per square meter of mesh per day during fog events, with annual totals of 20 to 150 liters per square meter depending on site and frequency, enabling the supply of thousands of liters daily to support agriculture and domestic needs in remote areas.^[59]^[60] Advancements in scientific research have introduced innovative materials for enhanced fog water extraction, particularly in the Atacama Desert. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous crystalline structures designed for adsorption, have shown promise in harvesting water from low-humidity air prevalent in fog deserts. Piloted simulations and field tests in the Atacama indicate that MOFs like MOF-303 can capture 7 to 20 liters of water per kilogram of material under desert conditions, with daily rates reaching up to 1.3 liters per kilogram at relative humidities as low as 32%. These developments, inspired briefly by natural adaptations such as those of Namib Desert beetles that collect fog on their exoskeletons, aim to scale up for passive, solar-powered devices suitable for off-grid communities.^[61]^[62] Conservation efforts in fog deserts face significant challenges from environmental and human pressures. Climate change is projected to reduce fog frequency and low-cloud cover in the Namib, potentially disrupting the moisture-dependent ecosystems. Additional threats include mining activities, such as uranium extraction in the Namib region, which can alter landscapes and reduce fog infiltration, and urbanization along coastal zones that fragments habitats. To counter these, protected areas play a crucial role; the Namib-Naukluft National Park, established in 1986 through the merger of earlier reserves, spans approximately 50,000 square kilometers and prioritizes the preservation of fog-influenced dune systems and biodiversity. This park, incorporating the UNESCO-listed Namib Sand Sea since 2013, implements monitoring and restricted access to safeguard the fog-driven ecological processes.^[63]^[64]^[65]

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The Atacama and Peruvian Deserts are a 3500km belt with a mild, uniform climate, influenced by the Humboldt Current, and fog zones on steep slopes.Missing: formal | Show results with:formal
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(PDF) Biogeographic diversification in Nolana (Solanaceae), a ...
Aug 7, 2025 · The present paper reconstructs the biogeographic diversification for Nolana L.f. (Solanaceae), a genus of 89 endemic species largely ...Missing: cover | Show results with:cover
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Plant diversity and structure in desert communities of the Andean ...
Mar 7, 2022 · The main goal of this study was to characterize and compare the structure of plant communities in two localities in the Ica department.
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Welwitschia | Plant, Description, Gymnosperm, Gnetophyte ...
The plant has a deep taproot, which may extend downward for 1.5 metres (about 5 feet) or more before it divides into numerous thin roots. Given the aridity of ...Missing: meter drip
[39]
Welwitschia mirabilis - UC Davis Botanical Conservatory
Mar 26, 2025 · Native to the coastal deserts of Namibia and Angola, Welwitschia mirabilis have unique morphological adaptations that have allowed them to survive and evolve ...<|separator|>
[40]
Euphorbia xanti at San Marcos Growers
Euphorbia xanti (Baja Spurge) - An interesting fast growing openly-branched deciduous evergreen shrub to 3 to 6 feet tall more and spreading by rhizomes to form ...Missing: fog desert thick cuticle transpiration 90%
[41]
The Ecological Water-Use Strategies of Succulent Plants
Aug 6, 2025 · Their thick and waterstoring leaves enable them to mitigate the effects of drought by buffering transpiration and reducing water loss from ...
[42]
Comparative Impact of Fog and Rainfall on Vegetation in a Foggy ...
Oct 16, 2024 · Fog is an important water source that alleviates vegetation water stress, especially for dryland ecosystems. Comprehensive knowledge of fog ...
[43]
Fog basking by the Namib Desert beetle, Onymacris unguicularis
Jul 1, 1976 · Aperiodic advective fog collection from vegetation 3 or detritus 4 is a possible source of water for diverse Namib animals.
[44]
Prey use by black-backed jackals along a desert coast
Differences in prey taken by black-backed jackals Canis mesomelas at three widely separated sites on the. Namib Desert ... sandhopper. Talorchestia capensis.
[45]
Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)
The desert iguana is a medium-sized lizard, 16 inches long, with a pale gray or whitish body, found in dry, sandy areas dominated by creosote bush.Missing: fog | Show results with:fog
[46]
Birding and Nature at Peru's Lomas de Lachay - Peru Aves
Sep 26, 2014 · Peruvian Meadow Larks, Hooded Siskin, Mountain Parakeets, Yellowish Pipits, and Chiguanco Thrushes are there, albeit mostly during the wettest ...
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Spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta feeding ecology and selectivity of ...
Mar 11, 2021 · Springbok had a slightly higher mean density of 1.352/km−2 (±0.48) with a detection probability of 0.60 and an ESW of 511.66 m. Ostrich had a ...
[48]
Passive water harvesting by desert plants and animals: lessons from ...
Feb 3, 2020 · In this paper, an overview of various desert plants and animals is given and known water harvesting mechanisms of some are presented.
[49]
Fog-basking behaviour and water collection efficiency in Namib ...
Jul 16, 2010 · Fog brings water in the form of minute droplets that can deposit up to a litre of water per square metre on the mesh of an artificial fog ...
[50]
Design of a unidirectional water valve in Tillandsia - PMC
Jan 20, 2020 · The valve-like trichomes of the desert plant Tillandsia landbeckii allow water acquisition from fog while minimising transpiration. Here ...
[51]
Evolutionary lag times and recent origin of the biota of an ancient ...
Arid climates (<50 mm/y) developed at least 33 million years ago in the Atacama–Sechura Desert. Chaetanthera, Malesherbia, and Liolaemus all show dramatic ...
[52]
[PDF] Exploring fog as a supplementary water source in Namibia - FogQuest
Our current tests concentrate on improving fog collectors in terms of yield and durability, and on investigations of alternative fog collectors, better suited ...Missing: Himba | Show results with:Himba
[53]
Prehispanic Aymara expansion, the Southern Altiplano and San ...
Aug 7, 2025 · Aymara speakers are intrusive into the Southern Peruvian Coast and Northern Chilean coast during Tiwanaku Period V, with the establishment ...Missing: folklore camanchaca fog
[54]
Curatorship – Deserta Ecofollie
Fog, also known as camanchaca (from Aymara, kamanchaka 'darkness') corresponds to the stratocumulus cloud coming from the Pacific Ocean which enters the ...
[55]
The Guano Age (Chapter 2) - Guano and the Opening of the Pacific ...
Peru in the Guano Age. The massive international trade in bird excrement during the mid-nineteenth century had a profound impact on coastal and highland Peru.Missing: hydration | Show results with:hydration
[56]
Island of Fogs - University of Utah Press
Two sites dated to before 12,000 cal BP have been excavated, as well as portions of two large village sites dated to the last one thousand years. Among the ...Missing: dependent herding 10000 BCE
[57]
[PDF] Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigations of Isla Cedros ...
Des Lauriers, Matthew R. 2005 Rediscovering Huamalgua, the Island of Fogs: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigations of Isla. Cedros, Baja California.
[58]
Namibia Early Projects | FogQuest: Sustainable Water Solutions
Fog collection rates in the coastal part of the Namib Desert have been low. They are of the order of 1 L m-2 day-1 or less averaged for the entire year but of ...Missing: pre- colonial
[59]
[PDF] FogQuest MANUAL
... fog collectors on the 600 m high cliff above the village were found to yield an average of 1.5 liters of fog water per square meter of mesh per day. This yield ...<|separator|>
[60]
Metal–Organic Frameworks for Water Harvesting from Air, Anywhere ...
Jul 13, 2020 · Daily rates as high as 90 L of water per kilogram of MOF can be achieved in the regions where the air is rich in water (Chennai, India), while a ...
[61]
Metal–Organic Frameworks for Water Harvesting from Air, Anywhere ...
Jul 13, 2020 · This device was initially tested in our laboratory at University of California, Berkeley, and found to deliver 1.3 L water/kg of MOF/day (at 32% ...Missing: fog | Show results with:fog
[62]
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7453559/
[63]
Namib Sand Sea - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Namib Sand Sea is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. Covering an area of over three million ...Missing: terrain outcrops
[64]
World Heritage status for Namibia's Sea of Sand | IUCN
a unique coastal fog desert with a diverse range of large, shifting dunes — was granted World Heritage status today at the ...